A New Armor
by Misako Hashiba
Summary: There's a new armor, a new enemy, and a person from Ryo's past. Ryo must protect this new armor and the person from his past. Can he?
1. Default Chapter

~Prologue~

Three figures trekked across the sparse land. Each had a camera in hand. The oldest, a man in his fourties, had taken his two young sons to Africa on a photo safari. The boys' mother had died earlier that year, so the man was raising his boys single-handedly.

"Wow! That g'raff was neat Dad!" Chirped little Ryo. He had just recently turned five. "What are we gonna phot'graph now?"

"Whichever animal we see next, Son."

"Can we wook for da wions, Daddy?"

"Lions don't live in this part of Africa, Eyn. They live where there are more rocks and trees."

Eyn pouted. "But I wanna see da wions!"

Ryo patted his brother's shoulder. "Don't worry, Eyn. We'll prob'ly see some by the end of the day. If not, prob'ly t'morrow."

"Ok. Tanks, Wyo."

They walked for about another hour and were about to stop for lunch, when, out of nowhere, four lionesses pounced them!

"AAAAAAAAAA! We're not food!" The man shouted. "Stay away from us!"

The lionesses, of course, would not leave and continued to growl and circle them.

Ryo clung to his father's pant leg, practically in tears. "I'm scared Daddy! Make them stop!"

"I'm trying, Ryo, I'm trying!" He scooped up a handful of sand and tossed it into the nearest lioness's face. That gave him a chance to back away slightly. However, the lionesses still came towards them. "Shoot!" He yelled. But then he got *another* idea. Without really thinking about it, he pried Eyn off his other leg and threw him into the middle of the lionesses.

While they were distracted, the man picked up Ryo and made a break for it, running back to their jeep.

"Daddy, what are you doing?!"

"Saving us, that's what!"

"But what about Eyn?" Ryo got no answer as he was taken farther and farther away from his brother and best friend. Tears started to stream down his face. "EYN!!!!"

"WYOOOOOOO!!" Eyn sat in the middle of the four lionesses, calling for his brother. When the other two were no longer in sight, the little three year old cried his eyes out.

Looking at each other, the lionesses mentally discussed what to do. Through telepathic debate, one of the lionesses slowly approached the boy. "-Shhh. Don't cry little one.-"

"Don' eat me, pwease."

"-We're not going to eat you.-" She sat on her haunches. "-We just want to help you.-"

Eyn sniffed and blinked away his tears. "Weawwy?"

She gave him a growling chuckle and licked his face. "-Really. Besides, we were only interested in eating the tallest one.-" She stood up, then crouched slightly. "-Now, get on my back and we'll take you home.-"

He eagerly climbed on her back. "You'w take me back to Wyo?"

"-No, little one. Back to where WE live.-"

"Oh." With that, she and the other three lionesses took off, running back toward the pride. During the ride, Eyn began thinking. _Why'd Daddy fwow me to da wions wike dat? Didn't he wike me?_ He frowned. _An' how come I can unnerstan' dem? Don' dey woar instead of tawk?_

Pretty soon, the five of them reached the outskirts of the pride's territory. Other lionesses, and a few cubs, looked up as the group ran by. When they reached their male's 'throne', the lioness let Eyn down and sat once he was off.

"What awe you waitin' fow?" He whispered, looking around curiosly.

"-The Alpha male. Our king.-" She whispered back.

"Am I in twouble?"

"-No, he just has to-" She was cut off as a ferocious roar sounded throughout the area.

Everyone present looked in the direction of the roar to see it followed by a rather large, fierce looking lion. Eyn gulped and started shaking. The lion slowly prowled up to him and sniffed his scent.

"-Why have you brought this human here?-" He growled. "-Is he to be my dinner?-" He gave a feline grin, then snapped his jaws right in Eyn's face. That little move earned him a whimper from the boy.

"-No My Lord. Your dinner threw him at us as a distraction for his getaway.-" Said the one whom he had ridden. "-The girls and I thought we could raise him as one of our own. But I wanted to get your permission first.-"

The lion looked back and forth between the four lionesses and the boy. Finally, he said "-Well, the human *is* quite young looking. How old is he anyway?-"

"I'm Fwee, Mistew Wion."

"-Ah. Well then...Hey, wait a second!-" He blinked. "-You can understand me?-" Eyn nodded. "-No human has ever understood our language. What's your name, Cub?-"

"Eyn Sanada, Siw."

"-You may stay with the pride, Eyn, but you will have to learn the ways of our species. Understand?-"

Eyn nodded. "I unnerstan'."

"-Good. Keylina, please take the boy to the Cub Cave.-"

"-As you wish, Oto.-" She turned to Eyn. "-Come little one. I'll show you where you can stay.-"

"Yes, Miss Kaywina." Eyn followed Keylina down a path towards a cave surrounded by ten to twenty lionesses. As soon as he entered the cave, he knew he'd never be the same again.


	2. Chapter 1

~Chapter Two~

Ryo opened the door and walked in. Setting his backpack in a nearby chair, he made his way over to the kitchen and took a cup out of the cupboard. After filling it with water, he walked to the couch and sat down. School was out for spring break and Ryo was planning to spend it with his best friend, Sai.

Toji shut his bedroom door and walked into the living room. "Oh, Ryo, you're home."

"Hey, Dad." He took a sip of his water.

"I have a surprise for you."

"Really? What is it?"

"Since I don't have any jobs this week, I thought we could go on a trip."

"Cool! Where?"

"Africa. There's this little place I want to go to."

"That's great Dad! Good thing I'm out of school for the week."

"Yeah, so get packing. We leave in five hours."

"Ok!" Setting his glass on the coffee table, Ryo got up, grabbed his backpack and rushed off to his room to pack. _This is great! Maybe now I'll get to see if Eyn's still alive. Oh, I should call Sai, too, and let him know we won't be able to do anything this week._ After packing, Ryo headed out to the phone and dialed Sai's number.

"Mouri residence."

"Hi, is Sai home?"

"Yes he is, who's calling please?"

"It's Ryo."

"One moment."

Sai took the phone from his mother. "Hello."

"Hey Sai. Look, I've got some news for you. We won't be able to do anything this week."

"Why? We had it all planned!"

"I know, but my Dad wants me to go to Africa with him. We leave in five hours."

"*sigh* Alright. You'll write me, right?"

"Of course."

"Ok. See you when you get back then."

"Right. Bye." Ryo hung up the phone. _Wish he could go with us. Oh well, maybe it's for the best that he and the others don't know about-_

"Ryo, it's time to go. We have to be at the airport soon or we'll miss checking in."

"Ok, Dad. Just let me get my suitcase."

An hour later, Toji and Ryo were sitting at their gate. Ryo was watching some men working outside while Toji read a photography magazine. This was the most boring part of flying, waiting for the plane to start loading. Sighing, Ryo decided to ask his father some questions. "Hey, Dad?"

"Hm?"

"How long will it take for us to get to Africa from here?"

"A few hours."

"Are we going to go on another photo safari?"

He looked up from his magazine. "Are you kidding?! After what happened last time, we are going to avoid all but the town we're staying in." He paused a second. "Besides, don't you have enough pictures from that already?"

Ryo shrugged. "I dunno. Just thought it'd be fun. Maybe we'd see something we didn't last time."

"Sorry Ryo, but I'm sticking to the town this time." He went back to reading.

_Oh well. At least I still have this._ He took a much worn, sort of faded picture out of his wallet. Eyn's face stared back at him, big cheery smile and all. Tears began to form as he thought back to that day. _I hope you're still alive. Dad never talks about you, like you never exsisted. He thinks I don't remember. But I do. I'm only taking this trip so I can find you._ Wiping the tears away, he returned the picture to it's spot in his wallet and glanced at the clock on the wall. "Shouldn't the plane be here by now?"

"It's already here. They're almost ready to start loading."

"Oh."

Soon, Ryo and Toji were seated on the plane. Three hours later, Ryo and his father were unpacking their suitcases in their broken down hotel room.

"Alright Ryo. Here's what's going on. Today we are just going to stay at the hotel and relax after that long flight. Tomorrow, we're going to cruise around town and become familiar with it, so the *next* day we can go sightseeing."

"That sounds good. But what about the rest of the week?"

"We'll figure that out when we get there. Tell you what. Why don't you go scout around the hotel for a while."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to take a nap. These long flights always make me sleepy."

"Ok." Ryo waited until his father had crawled under the covers of one of the two beds before walking out of the room.

The hotel wasn't anything spectatular. A simple two story wooden building in bad need of repair. After scouting about the place, and getting shooed out of some areas with a broom, Ryo decided to sit outside for awhile. _Dad won't be up yet and there's really nothing to do here. *sigh* If only we could go on that photo safari. I've just *got* to know if he's still alive!_ He watched the native kids playing in the streets. Ok, trying not to get trampled by pedestrians or run over by bicycles, but playing nonetheless. _This would be a good time for me an' Sai to be doing something. Jeeze, been here not EVEN a day and already there's nothing to do!_

Just then, he saw a building that had the sign 'Photo Safari Tours' above the door. _I wonder if anyone's reported anything unusual after their tours._ He stood and made his way to the building. The door creaked as Ryo opened it and walked inside. A middle-aged African woman looked up at him from behind the counter.

"Hello." She said. "Can Delu help you?"

"Yes, I was wondering if anyone has reported anyting unusual while they were on their tours."

"Like what?"

"Um...possibly a kid, who looks like me, out with lions or wandering around the Serengheti?"

"Let Delu check for you." Delu bend down behind the counter and brought up a worn leather bound book. Opening the book, she flipped through a few pages before stopping at a page. "Here we go. First report says a woman saw a naked, black haired child roaming near a water hole with one or two other lions."

"Does the entry have a date Ma'am?"

"Hm...yes. It's dated about five years ago."

"There's still hope then!"

"Beg your pardon?"

"Oh, it's nothing, Ma'am. Say, do you think I can get a lift out to the spot the kid was reported at last?"

"For a price."

"You can bill it to my father, Toji Sanada."

"You mean the photographer?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

Her eyes lit up. "He's very good looking." She winked at him. "You go free." A tap of the service bell sitting on the counter brought out a young man from the back. "Dalal, please take this young man to the spot the black-haired boy was last reported at."

"Yes'm." Dalal motioned for Ryo to follow him.

Before doing so, Ryo turned to Delu. "Thank you for all your help." He left as she grinned and winked at him. Ryo followed Dalal through the back door, where a beat up, faded green jeep stood, parked in the sand.

Dalal opened the passenger side door and gestured. "Get in, please."

"Thank you, Sir." He got in and buckled his seatbelt.

His guide hopped in the driver's seat and brought the motor to life. On the way to the location, Dalal turned to Ryo. "Why do you care about that boy? Probably dead by now."

"It's personal and I'd rather not think of that possiblilty, thanks."

"Might not find the boy again."

"I'll look."

"That's not wise. It's very dangerous out there. Might as well give up and head back."

"I'm aware of the danger, but it's a risk I'm willing to take." The jeep slowed to a stop. "Why are we stopping? Is this the location?" He looked out across the sparse land. Really, it was nothing more than patches of greenery with a big lake off to the side.

"Last location is a bit farther than here, but this is as far as I'm going. I DON'T want to meet up with those lions that live here!"

"Alright. Thanks for taking me this far." Ryo just barely stepped away from shutting the door before Dalal stepped on the gas and booked it back to town.

"Great, just great." He sighed. "Well, I wanted this, so now I have to live with it." Surveying his surroundings, such as they were, he contemplated on which direction to go. "Hm...No lions at the lake, so he probably won't be there. We were heading straight so......I guess that's the way I'll go." _Hang on Eyn, I'll be there soon!_ With that in mind, Ryo set off to find his brother.


	3. Chapter 2

~Chapter Three~

Rich stood in front of the Emporor's throne, awaiting orders. While he was waiting, he decided to preen his armor. His armor was the Nighthawk. It was pitch black with a triangle of white in the center of the chest. Attached to the back of the armor were two giant, metal wings, each adorned with hundreds of metal feathers. At the ends of his fingers sat five razor sharp claws, which gleamed in the low light. His foot armor boasted three talons each, two in the front and one in the back. Dusting off the front of his armor with a hand, Rich looked around, slightly bored. As he was stretching his wings, a cold wind passed by and Talpa's giant head materialized in front of him, above the throne. Rich immediately snapped to attention, a fist over his heart.

Talpa addressed the young man before him. "Nighthawk, I have decided on a mission for you."

"What is it, Master?"

"I have learned, recently, that you are the brother to the Ronin of Strata. Plus, there is another, very powerful armor out there, somewhere. Your mission is to find it and bring it back to me."

"Yes, Master." He frowned under his beaked face mask. "I just have one question."

"And what would that be, Nighthawk?"

"Why tell me I'm a Ronin' brother if all you want me to do is bring back an armor?"

"Use that knowledge to gather any information on the new armor and, if possible, find any weaknesses that the Ronins have. Clear?"

"Crystal, my Master."

"Then go and don't fail me!"

"Yes, Master." Bowing, Nighthawk turned and walked out of the throne room.

******

Kayura stepped into the Dynasty kitchen where Venom, Darkness, Cruelty and Illusion were sitting around the table eating lunch. None of the four gave her the time of day. She placed a bowl of cereal in front of herself and turned to Cruelty. "So," She began, after taking a bite of her cereal. "how goes training the new recruit?"

"Fine." He answered without looking at her. "With that kanji of his, it's been a breeze training him."

"Yeah," Added Darkness. "unlike *some* people." He shot a nasty glare at Kayura. "Besides, he doesn't go whining to Master Talpa everytime we punish him."

"I do *not* go whining to the Master!"

"Yes you do!"

"Ok hotshot, when was the last time I did that?"

"Last week, when we were teaching you how to use those Starlight Swords."

"You lie! I have *never* whined to Master Talpa in my life!" The guys continued to tease her, however. After a few minutes of this, Kayura could no longer stand it and bolted out of her seat. "MASTER TAAAAAALLLLLLLPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" With tears in her eyes and the Warlords' laughter ringing in her ears, she ran out of the kitchen.

******

Rich trotted up to the door of Mia's mansion. Talpa had also informed him that the Ronins were living with a young lady while they trained for the upcoming battles. _I hope this works. Wouldn't do to have them find me out before I've had a chance to learn anything._ Taking a deep breath, he rapped his knuckles firmly against the door. Just when he thought no one was home, the lock clicked and the door opened.

"Can I help you?"

"I hope so. I'm looking for Rowen Hashiba. Does he live here?"

"Who wants to know?" The person narrowed his eyes at Rich, then opened them wide in realization. "Oh! You must be Rowen's brother!"

"Yes, but...How did you know?"

"He's told us about you. Please come in and I'll go get him for you."

"Thank you, uh..."

"Sai." He smiled. "Please wait on the couch while I see if I can find your brother."

"Thanks." He walked over to the couch and sat. While Sai was off looking for Rowen, Rich took the time to take in his surroundings. _Nice place. But Master Talpa's castle is much better._

Kento bounded through the front door, followed by a lively Rowen. The two had been out playing basketball all morning. As he walked by the couch, Kento asked, "Hey Ro, have you seen Sai? I'm *starving*!"

"Nope, I was out with you all morning." Rowen replied.

"He's looking for Rowen." Rich said at the exact same time.

Kento turned to Rowen. "Since when could you do surround sound with your voice?"

Rowen blinked. "I can't."

"But..."

Rich turned around and rested his arms on the back of the couch. "I helped."

Rowen and Kento whipped their heads toward the couch. Both their jaws promptly hit the floor.

"Who the hell are you?!"

"You've got to be kidding me! Rich, is that you??"

"Well, it ain't the Easter Bunny."

Rowen rushed to the couch and gave his brother a hug and a noogie at the same time. "I haven't seen you in *years*!"

Kento just stood there, dumbfounded. "Uhhh..."

Rowen rolled his eyes. "This is my brother, Rich, Kento. I told you all about him, remember?"

"Oh yeah..."

Sai walked back into the room. "I'm sorry, I can't seem to find...Rowen! *There* you are! Heh, I see you've already found him."

"Yeah, Ken and I walked in and, boom, there he was."

"Well, guess I'll go start lunch then."

"WOOHOO!!" Kento danced for joy as Sai headed into the kitchen, while Rowen and Rich stood there, sweatdropping.

_What have I gotten myself into...?_ Rich thought, before tuning into what Rowen was saying.


	4. Chapter 3

~Chapter Four~

_How can anyone stand to *live* out here?!_ Ryo thought as he trekked across the land. He had long decided that the blazing sun was slowly cooking his brain, letting it simmer in its own juices. _Which reminds me...I'm *HUNGRY*. I hope I find him soon..._ It seemed like he'd been out there forever, searching for his brother. However, Ryo was not going to give up that easily.

Continuing under the hot sun, Ryo scanned the sparse land swimming in head all around him. After what seemed like hours and countless collapses later, he caught a glimpse of three or four...things coming towards him. _Oh swell...what a perfect time to start seeing a mirage!_ He collapsed, yet again, just as the moving objects came close enough to focus themselves into something recognizable. Three lionesses. And they were getting close, way too close for his comfort. _Great, go searching for my brother only to get eaten by lions._ Closing his eyes, he waited for his enevitable doom to consume him.

Keylina, Potchy and Jofine had noticed Ryo from miles away. Thinking to stalk him as prey, they soon changed their minds once they got close enough to get a good look at him. Keylina padded up to him and nudged the side of his head with her nose. When he didn't respond, she put her two front paws on his back and pushed down a few times. That didn't seem to work either. She exchanged glances with her two friends before giving the exsposed part of his face a long, hot swipe of her tongue.

Ryo's eyes popped open and swept up to get an up close and personal view of the lioness's face. He scrambled to a sitting position, staring a tad fearfully at the three big cats in front of him. "Don't eat me, I come in peace!" _Geeze, that was corny!_ He mentally smacked himself for that little bit of stupidity.

Potchy, a dark tan, almost brown, lioness, sat on her haunches and gave Ryo a curious look. "-Why does he not roar like he normally does?-"

"-I don't know.-" Keylina, the leader of the three, Ryo thought, stared at him hard. "-And what happened to his scars?-"

Jofine, during this little question session, had remained silent. Now she slowly moved close to Ryo, sniffing his scent. Her eyes narrowed at what she discovered. "-This is *not* Ari. It's an imposter!-"

Ryo had sat by, quietly watching the three, waiting for one to make a move, any move. He managed not to cringe in fear when Jofine came up and sniffed him. Now, however, he started scooting backwards. They were growling at him, advancing slowly. Why? He hadn't the foggiest. The only thing he could hope for now, was to escape with his life.

******

Eyn casually patrolled the stretch of land before him. It was his turn to make sure no creature, save for lions, crossed the border of their territory. It seemed, to him, that the Serengheti was devoid of any life but his today. He was unaware, for instance, that Ryo was only a few miles away, trying to save himself from lionesses.

_-I wish something would happen.-_ He thought. _-This is so *boring*!-_ It was on the return of one pass of the the border, that a bright twinkling caught his eye. Turning in the direction he thought it came from, he contemplated over whether or not to go check it out.

_-If I go see what it is, I'd be abandoning my post. However, it could be something important and if I *don't* go see what it is, it might get stolen or lost before I can get back to it.-_ He debated like this for a few more moments, before natural curiosity won out. Jogging over to the twinkling object, he crouched before it. It was a round...rock of some kind. He'd never seen anything like it. As he studied the "rock", he could have *sworn* it was glowing at him. He reached out to pick it up and as his hand neared it, the soft glowing gradually became brighter.

Eyn didn't know *what* to think. Finally, after gathering his courage, he picked it up. It sat in the palm of his hand, glowing a bright, cheery, golden tannish brown. There was something visible in the center, but he couldn't make it out. _-I wonder how this got here.-_ He turned it over in his hand a few times. _-It's pretty, though. I think I'll keep it.-_ He'd have to find a safe place for it after his shift. Standing, he started to make his way back to his post. He didn't get far, however, before he heard the familiar roar of his old friend, Keylina, in the distance. Disregarding his responsibility, he took off in the direction the roar came from.

******

_Crap, I'm surrounded!_ Ryo took in his bad, turning worse, situation. He was in the middle of the Serengheti, in a country he was not familiar with, sitting in the sand with three angry lionesses blocking any chance of escape. How the hell was he going to get out of this one?

The answer came not to long after. The sounds of someone running on sand and the next to nothing vegetation could be heard in the distance, and it was getting louder! Soon, a figure was visible. The closer the figure got, the wider Ryo's eyes became. _He looks exactly like me!_ Not to mention the fact that he was completely naked. So transfixed on the boy a few short feet away, he didn't notice the lionesses back off.

"-What's going on?-" Eyn asked. "-And who's that?-"

Potch answered him. "-We don't know. He looks so much like you, we thought it *was* you.-"

"-We were going to kill him.-" Keylina said, without taking her eyes off Ryo.

Eyn walked over and knelt in front of him, studying him for a moment. He pulled away, turning to address his friends. "-Let's take him back to the Pride. I don't sense any threat from him, plus he looks like he could use some water.-"

"-Do you think Yuma would mind? I mean, he *is* the Alpha now. He might not like the idea of bringing a stranger into the pride.-" Jofine gave Ryo a wary look.

"-I don't think he will. But if he does, I will take full responsibility.-" Eyn turned back to Ryo and helped him stand. Then, while supporting him, he and the lionesses headed back to the pride, Ryo still in a state of shock.


	5. Chapter 4

~Chapter Five~

The lake captured the sun and reflected its brilliance straight into Rich's eyes. He covered them with a hand . "Yeesh...Should have brought sunglasses."

"Here, use mine." Kento passed his shades over to him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I won't need them to raid the picnic basket." Winking and putting a finger to his lips, he nonchalantly moved closer to the basket. _I hope no one notices..._

"KENTO!! Get your hand out of the picnic basket!" Said hand was promptly smacked with the suction-cupped hand of a Monster Mash game wand.

"Ow! Aw, come on Sai! You /know/ I have a weakness for food!" He shook his hand to try to relieve the pain.

Rich smiled evilly to himself. Finally, he had found out one of their weaknesses! Though, he probably could have already guessed /that/ one. Nonetheless, he stood. "Hey, I'll be right back guys. Gotta use the restroom." After recieving some nods and mumbled affirmatives, Rich made his way back to the house.

Once he was safely out of hearing range, Sage ventured a question that had been knawing on the back of his mind. "Why does your little brother keep his distance from everyone? It's been three months! He should know us, at least, a little better by now."

Rowen sighed. "He's probably just shy, Sage. Give him a little more time to get used to us."

"He keeps his distance from /you/, too, Rowen." Kento pointed out, sneaking a twinkie from the basket.

"You guys are just paranoid! Sai, back me up here!"

"I saw that Ken." Sai glared shortly at Kento before turning to speak to Rowen. "Look, Ro, just because your brother seems to act strangely suspicious, doesn't mean they're paradoid. However, it doesn't mean they're /not/ either."

"Oh right!" Rowen rolled his eyes. "Name /one/ thing he did that was suspicious."

"Maniacal laughter in the bathroom last Tuesday night. Coincidently after finding out Ryo should have been back a week after he got here." Kento stated, picking up the game since no one was playing it anymore.

"Not to mention the fact that I keep getting bad vibes from him."

Rowen stared at his best friend for a moment. _If Sage is getting bad vibes...who /knows/ what might happen!_ "Ok...so, I guess, the best thing we can do is keep our eyes peeled for...whatever." Sage, Kento and Sai all nodded in agreement.

******

_Good, no one else came inside._ Rich trotted up the stairs into the room he shared with Rowen and Sage. Snatching up a fancy looking pad of paper from Sage's desk and a stylish pen, he began jotting down the information he just learned. After that bit was done, he softly chanted some ancient words, gradually getting louder. He didn't notice as a figure opened the door and stopped in the doorway.

_What the..._ "Rich, what the hell are you doing?"

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!" Rich nearly hit the ceiling. Spinning, he glared at the other with a hand over his heart. "Rowen! What are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack?!"

"Sorry." He walked over to him and caught sight of the pad of paper. "You weren't planning a practical joke were you?"

"Uh...no! No, no jokes." He smiled nervously.

Rowen gave him a suspicious look. _Some how...I don't quite believe that..._ "Ok. Just don't go overboard, alright?"

"Sure. No problem!" He sighed in relief when Rowen left. "Jerk. Now I have to do the spell all over again!"

******

Kayura bounded into the throne room, happily waving a piece of paper in the air. "Special deliiiiiveryyyyyyyyy!!"

"Ooo! Let me see, Kayura! Let me see!!" Darkness jumped up and tried to snatch the paper from her hand.

"Nuh-uh-uh, Darky. This is for Master Talpa's eyes /only/." She held it out of his reach.

"Aw, c'mon Kay! It's not like I'm gonna ruin it or anything!"

"DON'T call me Kay!" She growled. "Now you'll /never/ get to see it." She huffed and walked up to the throne. "Master? I have a delivery for you."

Talpa's giant head quickly materialized before her. "Oh? And just what /is/ this delivery, Kayura?"

"Another note from Nighthawk. Shall I read it to you, Master?"

"Yes."

"Very well." Holding it up a bit, she read aloud. "It says, and I quote, 'Master, I have found the weakness of one of the remaining four. The one called Kento has a weakness for food. More to come when I discover them. Nighthawk.'"

"Talpa thought over this bit of information. Yes, he could definately work with that. Perhaps he'll have Illusion take care of it. It would only be fitting, after all. "Excellent. Make sure he keeps this up."

"Yes Master." The warlords and Kayura bowed as Talpa faded from sight.


	6. Chapter 5

~Chapter 6~

Ryo sat, perched on top of a very large rock, looking out over the sparse land. It had been aproximately three months since he'd been out here. Of course, it was hard to keep track of what day it was and after about four days he'd simply given up. Once his initial shock wore off, he'd grabbed his brother up in a tight bear hug, tears making tracks through the dust on his face. Eyn, for his part, only vaguely remembered him. Ryo had to show him a picture of the two of them before it totally sank in who he was.

_He had the most /adorable/ chibi expression on his face when he realized who I was._ He thought, chuckling. Just then, he felt a body plunk itself down next to him. Looking to his left, he smiled at who it was. "Hey."

"Hi! What Ryo do?"

Ryo gave him a soft smile. "Just thinking. You're grasp of our language has gotten much better, Eyn."

Eyn beamed. "Thank Ryo! Ari try Ari best."

"I know you do." He patted his brother on the head.

A few minutes passed before Eyn asked "How Ryo get here?"

"Er...Well..." _Great...how am I gonna explain this..._ "Dad had asked me to come here to Africa for a week."

"Where Daddy?"

Ryo laid back and stared up at the cloudless blue sky. "He's probably back in Japan right now. Probably didn't even try to find me."

Eyn frowned. "Not...un'stand."

"I left without permission to find you."

"Oh." Eyn watched Ryo for a bit. For a long time he had wondered who the person he was reaching for in his dreams was. Now he knew and was quite happy about it. He enjoyed spending the day with Ryo and the two had even made an agreement: Ryo would teach him to speak human, as Eyn put it, and He, in exchange, would teach Ryo to hunt and how to pick up and recognize scents. They were both doing quite well, too.

"I want to go home." Ryo's comment broke through his musings.

"Why? Pride not bad."

"No. The Pride's been wonderful, but I miss my friends back home."

"Ari see." He thought for a moment. "Not want leave Pride, but want Ryo happy. Ari, Ryo leave t'day."

Ryo blinked. "Are you sure?"

"Hai. Need tell Yuma 'fore leave."

"Ok. Let's go ahead and do that."

Nodding, Eyn stood up, waited for Ryo to do the same, then headed over to where the large male lion was lounging.

Yuma looked up as the two approached him. Even after all this time, he was /still/ amazed at how much they looked alike. Though their scents were different, he often mistook one for the other. Oh well, he'll learn one of these days. He sat up and raised a paw in greeting.

"-Hi Yuma!-" Eyn crouched before him.

"-What brings you by, Ari?-"

"-Well, Ryo and I...wanna leave.-"

Yuma stared at him, looked over to Ryo, then back at Eyn. "-You want to leave? Why?-"

"-Ryo's homesick. He misses his friends. And...I don't want to lose him again.-"

Yuma, who had become Alpha when his father passed away less than a year ago, thought over this information. After a long pause, he gave his answer. "-If this is what you must do, Ari, then by all means go ahead. The Pride will miss you, but we want you to be happy above all else. You know that.-"

"-Yes. Thank you, Yuma.-" He gave his friend a huge hug. "-I'll miss the Pride, too.-" He stood and turned back to Ryo. "Yuma say can leave."

"Thanks, Yuma." Ryo gently scritched the lion behind the ears, which earned him a happy sounding growl.

A few minutes later, both Ryo and Eyn were on their way, walking through the heat and leaving the pride of lions behind. Ryo had sort of adjusted to the sweltering heat, but still had a hard time keeping up with Eyn. He briefly mused that it was because he was wearing clothes and Eyn wasn't. He banished that thought, rationalizing that Eyn had lived in the heat longer than he had, so was better adjusted to it. They continued their trek in silence, speaking would only wear Ryo out more. Every once in a while, Eyn would stop them at a small spring that came from, seemingly, no where so they could keep hydrated.

After what seemed like an eternity, the two of them finally made it back to the town Ryo had left from. Extremely happy they had finally made it back, Ryo promptly passed out from exhastion and probably heat stroke. Not at all happy about this, Eyn picked his brother up, which is amazing since Ryo was older and weighed more than him, and carried him into town. The minute he stepped foot in town, /every/body stopped what they were doing and started at him. He certainly didn't understand that it was because he was completely naked and /not/ that he was carrying an unconscious person. A few of the adults, mostly turists, covered they're childrens' eyes as he walked past. He didn't really pay attention to them, he only wanted to find a place that would help Ryo.

About two hours later, the local police found and took him to the station. As soon as he walked in, the police took Ryo from him, disappearing through a door in the back. He had loudly protested this, but had been restrained until they made sure he understood that they were helping. Once he had calmed down, one of the officers shoved him into a pair of crudely made faded green pants and a dingy white t-shirt. Then, they sat him in one of the chairs to wait while Ryo recovered. _-This is taking too long!-_ He thought. _-I wish they didn't take him from me.-_

Finally, two officers and Ryo stepped out of the back room. Eyn jumped up and ran over to him, giving him a big hug. "Ryo! Ryo 'kay now?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just needed to rest a little."

One of the officers that had brought Ryo out, stepped forward. "Where do you two live? I'll make sure you get home safely."

Ryo gave the man a greatful smile. "Thanks. We live in Japan."

"That's quite a ways away. I can get you both a ticket home. Do you have any one that can pick you up at the airport?"

"I'd have to call. That is, if it's alright with you, sir."

"Go ahead." He gestured to the phone.

"Thanks." Picking up the reciever, Ryo dialed Mia's number (how he remembered it after all this time is beyond me.).

"Moshi moshi, Koji residence."

"Hey is Sai there?"

"Speaking. Who is this?"

"Sai, it's Ryo."

"Ryo! Where are you??"

"Still in Africa. I'm coming home. Can you or one of the guys come pick me up at the airport?"

Silence and muted voices greeted him. Then "Yeah. Just tell me when."

"Ok." The officer had, by this time, already gotten the tickets and handed them to Ryo, who gave the information to Sai. "...you got all that?"

"Yeah. We'll see you when you get back."

"Alright. Thanks Sai." He hung up and turned to the officer. "It's all set."

"Good. Your plane leaves soon, so let's get you to the airport."

"Yes sir. And thanks."

Nodding, the officer personally escorted the two Sanada's out the door and over to the airport.


	7. Chapter 6

~Chapter 7~

It was packed, and very, very noisy. Four Ronins sat at the terminal of gate A25, awaiting the arrival of the next plane. Sai had asked the others to come along once he found out the time and flight number of Ryo's plane. Everyone was excited and they all couldn't wait to see their friend again. It had been a long, too long, time since they've done anything together and now that he was coming back, all that would change. He turned to Rowen.

"Hey, Ro...Did you tell Rich we were picking up Ryo before we left?"

"Naw." He turned a page of the book he had brought. "Couldn't find him and there was no time to leave a note."

"Well!" Kento commented. "He's sure gonna be surprised when we get home."

Sai nodded in agreement. "Well, it's his own fault for disappearing. So he'd better not be mad at us when he can't figure out where we are."

Sage looked at his watch. "Plane should be here any minute now. There wasn't supposed to be any delays."

Soon, the door to the walkway leading to the plane was opened and passengers started pouring out. The four Ronins stood to try to catch a better glimpse of the person they were expecting.

"Do you see him?" Kento asked, craning his neck from side to side to look around other passengers.

"Not yet." Rowen answered. A moment later he spotted him. "Oh! There he is!" He began waving a hand in the air and calling out his name. "Ryo! Over here!!"

Looking up from his curious inspection of the walkway and approaching terminal at the sound of the familiar name, Eyn noticed a strange blue-haired boy waving his arm. When he made eye contact, the blue haired guy motioned for him to come over. _-Do....I know him?-_ Shrugging, he made his way over.

Rowen smiled as Ryo came nearer. As soon as he was close enough, he grabbed his friend up in a huge bear hug. "Hey! I missed ya buddy!" He gave him a noogie for old time's sake.

Eyn looked up at him, once he was released, with an extremely confused look on his face. "Who human? How know Ari?"

"Oh-ho! Trying to pull the wool over my eyes, eh? Well sorry to burst your bubble, there, Ryo, but it ain't gonna work."

"What...human talk 'bout?"

Kento walked over and slung an arm around Eyn's shoulders. "Look, playin /this/ type of game is more my an' Ro's style. Give it up, man!"

"Yeah." Sai smiled. "We already know who you are. There's no need to try to trick us."

Eyn frowned. He was now more confused than ever. "Ari not know human. How human know Ari?"

As Kento, Sai and Rowen tried to convince Ryo to admit to being himself, Sage was watching Ryo. Something about him just didn't seem.../right/. Sure, he /looked/ like Ryo, but he didn't /act/ like Ryo. And Ryo certainly never had any scars on his face like that either nor would he wear clothes /that/ hideous. After all, he had /some/ taste. Finally deciding to join in the conversation, he gave Ryo a hard look. "Where'd you get the scars, Ryo?"

Before Eyn could answer, a familiar scent reached him and he turned to find Ryo walking towards them. His eyes lit up and he ran the remaining distance to him. "RYO!"

"Hey, kid." He smiled.

"What take Ryo long?"

"I couldn't help it. You took off so fast that I got caught behind a large group of people."

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's ok." He looked up in time to catch the expressions on his friends faces. "What? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Ok, who spiked my drink?" Kento asked, staring into his can of soda.

Sai rolled his eyes. "No one did Kento." Turning to the two Ryos, he studied each one. "Right then...which one of you is the real Ryo?" He crossed his arms and waited for an answer.

Ryo laughed. "I am. Look, I promise a full explanation later. Let's just get out of here first, ok?"

Everyone agreed and the group made their way to Mia's red jeep.


End file.
